New Times / Letter To The Editor

Is OHV dunes riding really a cash cow?

Marsha Lilly

As a native Californian and beach lover, I was fortunate enough to live in the Central Coast from 2005 to 2009. I gained great love and respect for one of the most beautiful, pristine pieces of beach area on our California coastline. While living there, however, I was constantly baffled by the allowed use, hence abuse, of the Pismo dunes area for OHV riding, with its long lines of idling motor homes polluting the air and gas engines stirring up sands to create that awful, harmful-to-health “plume.”

Money, I was told. Local economics. “Bunk,” I said. Having lived in many other truly well-developed beach areas in California, with no dunes riding or OHVs, I’ve seen none that suffer economically. In fact, people stand in line there just to be tourists. Real tourists who want to use a friendly beach and spend money on hotels and beach side restaurants, entertainment, wine tastings, music venues, local art, and healthy sporting events.

The three beachside state parks in the county where I live now are never empty. They are an aid in helping to bring people from all over America, the world, just to experience a California coastline—all the while providing multi-bucks for local businesses.

I’d like to see the real books for ODSVRA. Their Highway 1 yard contains millions of dollars in just the equipment it takes to keep that beach a road. Truth is, the big moneymaker in the Pismo/Oceano area is not local businesses, and not even State Parks. It is the OHV industry.